Erase The World
by Madox
Summary: Chara wants to erase the world. But they didn't count on a certain skeleton being so powerful. Meanwhile, Frisk is trying to regain control of their body. They don't seem to be doing very well. And somehow, despite everything, Chara and Frisk are getting used to each other's company... (even if Frisk DOES occasionally makes bad puns) Then comes the glitch. Everything's going wrong.
1. Stronger Than You, Chara

**HOI. This be a collab with my friend, AnonymousPink. I'm Madox. ;p**

They entered Judgement Hall, their eyes devoid of emotion, yet seemingly emitting a red glow in the dim lighting.

The human child looked uneasy. You could visibly tell something was going on in their head...

 _Haha! We've finally made it to this bit! Aren't you excited? *_ _ **Chara sounds delighted.**_

 _ ***Frisk is having trouble comprehending what they have done.**_

 _...Why would you kill them?_

 _Why not? We've already finished the peaceful endings, haven't we? They were no fun at all!_

…

The child continued on in silence, knowing what would come next.

 _You've been quiet. Is all our LV getting to you? After we finish this, we can do it again!_ _ ***Chara's unhinged, almost demonic yet still childish laugh rang through the human's mind.**_ _This IS what you wanted, wasn't it? Though you were too weak to do it! Hehe!_

 _N-no! I never wanted this!_

"heya. you've been busy, huh?" Sans said casually. "so, I've got a question for ya. do you think even the worst person can change...? that everyone can be a good person, if they just try...?"

They looked at him coldly. _***Frisk tried to tell Sans that they were sorry.**_

 _ ***Nothing happened.**_

 _I'm sorry, I don't think you understand._

 _ **SINCE WHEN WERE YOU THE ONE IN CONTROL?**_

 _I've got_ _ **all**_ _this LOVE at my disposal...and now that I have control of your soul... Heehee!_

Nothing more needed to be said. Thought...?

Their grip on the knife tightened as they shifted into an attack stance.

"heh heh heh heh... all right. well, here's a better question. do you wanna have a **bad time? '** cause if you take another step forward... you are REALLY not going to like what happens next."

 _Who does he think he is?! I've got tons of LV! A_ _ **skele-ton**_ _, as that comedian would say it!_ _ ***Chara kinda regrets making that pun. They really don't like puns.**_ _I won't lose!_

They waited as he initiated the FIGHT. "welp. sorry, old lady. this is why i never make promises."

The child prepared themselves for the fight. l

 _Ha! He only has 1HP! I can kill him in one go, heehee! Easy EXP!_

Sans had his eyes shut. Eye sockets. Wait, how did he shut his eye sockets? He has no eyelids...? _***Frisk contemplates this while Chara focuses on the FIGHT at hand.**_

"it's a beautiful day outside. birds are singing, flowers are blooming... on days like these, kids like you..."

His eye sockets reopened. Gone were those strange white were empty. Black. Endless. The dead eye sockets of a skeleton.

 **" ."** Sans said, turning their soul blue. "Huh?" They cried out in surprise and realised, too late, that a row of bones had sprung up. Moments later, it pierced straight through their soul.

 _Crack..._

The sounds of a soul shattering resounded throughout the void before everything fell to darkness.

 _Why is_ _ **he**_ _attacking first? It should be me! Argh! He won't beat me that easily!_

'You'll be alright! Chara! Stay determined!'

 ***Chara is disgusted by the sound of their "father's" voice, his memory still there attempting to encourage them. They don't need any help. They don't need** _ **anybody**_ **.**

Time rewinded, and the human was determined. They appeared at their SAVE point and walked purposefully towards Sans for the second time.

They prepared to hear him say the same things again. They had reloaded, right? Which means he shouldn't remember anything. To him, it should feel like they are only now encountering him.

They were taken by surprise when he spoke.

"heya. you look pretty frustrated about something. i guess that means I'm good at my job, huh?" He said nonchalantly, initiating another FIGHT.

 _...what...?_

 _ ***Frisk sounds hopeful.**_

 _ ***Chara seems...well, their mood was a bit hard to read at the moment.**_

 _How could he have possibly remembered...?_

"it's a beautiful day outside. birds are singing, flowers are blooming... on days like these, kids like you..."

 _Chara forces themselves to snap out of it. Here he was again, saying the same things, like he should be. Now they prepared to attack._

 **" ."** Their soul pinged blue once again. This time, they were ready for it. They leapt upwards, avoiding the bones. But before they could react, even more bones appeared, catching them off guard. They died once again.

 _Why is he so strong?! Urgh! He's just a stupid skeleton! He's just a stupid lazy bone-head!_

 _Who tells amazing puns!_ _ ***Frisk is smiling internally, in spite of the situation.**_

 _No Frisk. Just no._

They walked towards him again.

"hmm... that expression... that's the expression of someone who's died twice in a row. suffice to say, you look really unsatisfied. all right. **how 'bout we make it a third?** " Those strange white pupils had disappeared and left black, empty holes. Somehow it looked more eerie, even though it was as it should be. Skeletons don't have pupils.

Another FIGHT. They dodged the first row of bones, and made it past the second. They were left with almost half of their HP.

 _It has to be my turn now, right?_

 **Wrong.**

Four strange, dragon-skull like things appeared.

 _WHAT THE HECK ARE THOSE?!_

The sound of something...charging up?

An explosion.

A white beam.

The sound of a soul shattering.

Again.

 _Friiiiiiskkk! You never told me he could do that!_ _ ***Chara complains.**_

 _I didn't know he could do that either. Hm. I think I'll call them "Gaster Blasters"._

 _ ***Chara scoffs**_ _. Where'd you get a name like_ that _from?_

 _ ***Though, despite these words, Chara decides to stick with the name.**_

"hmm... that expression... that's the expression of someone who's died thrice in a row. what comes after thrice, anyway? wanna help me find out?" He said.

They said nothing, grimly awaiting his attack.

… _Crack._

….. _Shatter._

…...

It took five resets to get past his first attack.

 _Finally! That took long enough!_ _ ***Chara seems delighted.**_

 _I'll finally get to kill him! Ahahahaha!_

 _ **Chara - 51/92 HP.**_

Confident they would win, they stepped forward and pressed **FIGHT**. They stabbed with their knife furiously. To their astonishment, he dodged the hit.

"what? you think I'm just going to stand there and take it?" Sans explained, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. An array of bones tore up the floor, heading straight towards them.

They frowned. Their soul was still blue, so they had to jump. Halfway through, they slipped and fell. Instantly, five bones pierced them. For the... what was it? Seventh time? Eighth? Their soul shattered.

 _Hehe..._ _ ***Frisk is giggling.**_

 _Stop it! It's not funny! Grr... I_ _ **WILL**_ _kill him eventually!_

 _Don't... We don't need to kill anybody... Let's RESET and go back to the way things were before._ _ ***Frisk really doesn't want to fight**_ _._

 _Ha! I've come so far, and I'm not going to stop now just because of some fat little skeleton!_

 _ ***Frisk looks offended for Sans' sake.**_ _Sans is_ _ **not**_ _fat._

 _What is he then?_

 _He's_ _ **big-boned.**_

 _NO! OH MY GAWD FRISK! HE'S GOTTEN TO YOU! FRRRIIISSSKKK..._

 _ ***Frisk is laughing hysterically. Internally...**_

 _ ***Chara growls.**_

 _ ***Though they don't have control of their body, the image of Frisk wiping away tears resonates within their soul. They're laughing too hard**_ _._


	2. Regret?

**A(nonymous)P(ink): GREETINGS READERS! WE HAVE RETURNED FROM THE LAND OF HOMEWORK AND GENERAL INABILITY TO WRITE!**

 **Madox: 'ello there. As of the above ^^ I've been buried in homework. XD I'm back. With another chapter.**

 **AP: And I have been buried in the horrible stress and overshadowing fear of...**

 **A PRESENTATION.**

 **(dun dun duuuuun!)**

 _ ***Chara severely disapproves of all of these jokes.**_ _Frisk. This is serious stuff here. I WILL get him._

 _ ***Frisk nods sarcastically, apparently confident that Sans was unbeatable.**_ _Yahuh. Sure._

 _ ***Chara sighs, exasperated.**_ _Forget it. I can do this just fine without your horrific puns, thanks._

 _I agree with you. They are_ _ **quite**_ _horrible. So bad, they're like paper..._

 _?_

 _ **TEAR**_ _ABLE!_

 _ ***Chara is cringing.**_ … _I can't…take this…much longer…_

 _ ***Frisk is enjoying themselves.**_

There he stood, still waiting for them. Just standing casually right in the middle of Judgement Hall, skeletal hands in the pockets of his blue hoodie. "oh, heya. didn't expect to see you back so soon. thought you'd gone for a little stroll. alas, you came back. meh. doesn't bother me much. after all, nothing gets… **UNDER MY SKIN?** " He winked after his fabulous skeleton joke, despite the situation.

 _ ***Frisk is rolling on the floor (internally, soul-y) and howling with laughter.**_

 _ ***Chara has reached blowing point.**_ _I SWEAR IF I HEAR ONE MORE PUN I'M GOING TO LOSE IT._

 _ ***Frisk is smiling mischievously. Looks like they've got another one...**_

 _DON'T. YOU. DARE._

 _Okay! Okay! Geez..._

 _ **~X~X~**_

"uhhh…kid? you've been standing there for a whole minute, just staring into space."

They blinked, suddenly aware of everything around them again.

One moment. Just one. For one precious moment, Sans saw something…someone…looking up at him. Someone who loved to smile and laugh. Someone who looked oddly familiar…someone...who might've even been...a _'friend'_?

It only lasted for an instant. Then their face took on that expression again. Emotionless. Lifeless. The eyes of a stone-cold killer.

But that other look...that was so innocent and familiar...It was such a contrast from the kid that stared back at him now.

 _ **~X~X~**_

"…huh. okay. welp... let's just _cut_ to the _point_." He grinned.

 _AAAAHHH NONONONONONO THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!OhmygodthatwastwopunsinoneANDtheywereknifepunsohmygodohmygod_ _ **NO!**_

 _ ***Frisk applauds and beams.**_

The FIGHT initiates and reality becomes black and white.

 _ ***Chara shifts into a battle stance.**_ _This is it. This time, I'm gonna beat him._

 _ ***They are still troubled by the fact that he seemed to remember everything...**_

 _ **~X~X~**_

The human shifted into a battle stance. Sans sighed. He tried not to show it, but he was getting tired of this.

Really tired…

 _ **~X~X~**_

"it's a beautiful day outside…" At this point, Chara zoned out. They'd heard this already. Many times. Too many now.

 _Ping!_

Blue soul.

 _But he hasn't finished his sentence yet! How come he…UGH!_ _ ***Chara shakes off a feeling of unease.**_

They still make it through the first attack.

 _ **Chara – 53/92 HP.**_

 _Better than last time,_ Chara noted. _Now, let's try this bit again –_

The human stabbed violently with their knife. Sans slid to the side, easily dodging it. "what? you think I'm just going to stand there and take it?"

 _Well, there we go. Back to the same old dialogue._

 _ ***Frisk has… fallen asleep?!**_

 _Frisk! I want you to watch me kill Sans, not sleep through the entire fight!_

 _Hm? Wha? Oh sorry. I guess even souls that don't have a BODY need to nap sometimes, Chara!_

 _ ***Frisk retorts, stretching. In their and Chara's combined minds, Frisk rubs their eyes, sitting up to watch. In any other situation, they might've perked up in a cute, kindergartener fashion, but this was no childish game.**_

Sans attacked. Chara attacked. Sans...Chara...Sans...Chara...And all the while Frisk could only watch helplessly.

…and listen to Sans.

"our reports showed a massive anomaly in the time-space continuum. timelines jumping left and right, stopping and starting..."

…

 _He knows._

It took five tries to get past this attack.

"until suddenly, everything ends."

 _ ***Frisk is wearing a look of regret.**_

Nine tries.

"heh heh heh…

that's your fault, isn't it?"

…

"you can't understand how this feels."

…

"knowing that one day, without any warning…

it's all going to be reset."

 _ ***A single tear rolls down Frisk's cheek.**_

 _Sans, I...I'm sorry..._

Three tries.

"look. i gave up trying to go back a long time ago."

...

 _ ***Chara is getting sick of this.**_ _Friissskk why does he have to be so good at dodging?!_

 _ ***Frisk feels defensive, for Sans' sake.**_ _Why are you so determined to kill him?_

 _Because there is no more turning back! We HAVE to finish this!_

 _No we don't! We can RESET!_

Chara winces as a bone cuts their skin. **32/92 HP**

"and getting to the surface doesn't really appeal anymore, either."

First try.

They eat a Glamburger.

"cause even if we do…

we'll just end up right back here, without any memory of it, right?"

They eat a Snowman Piece.

"to be blunt...it makes it kinda hard to give it my all."

 _ ***Frisk is despairing at Sans' situation. They believe it's all their fault.**_ _He still...remembers...I-I didn't...I didn't know that he...Oh...Sans, I..._

 _ ***Chara is nodding thoughtfully. The final pieces click into place.**_ _It makes more sense now._

"...or is that just a poor excuse for being lazy…? hell if i know."

 _ ***Chara checks their pockets. They only have a Quiche, two Snowman Pieces, and a Steak.**_

 _ ***Frisk lets out a yawn. Not sleepy so much as exhausted. They have no control of their body, yes. But that doesn't mean they stop feeling their energy being drained from all the fighting.**_ _Chara...please...he's too good anyway...let's just quit and go back..._

 _NO! Don't you see? That's EXACTLY what he wants!_

 _Well then...we'll be pleasing him at the same time..._

 _No. No. No no no NO NO NO NO! I am NOT going back_ _ **AGAIN!**_

 _...again? But...this is the first time we've ever -_

 _I'm not saying_ _ **anything**_ _._

 _Chara -_

 _ ***Chara is giving Frisk the cold shoulder. Shutting them out, just like they did to the rest of the world.**_

 _ **Just like they did to Azzy...**_

"all i know is...seeing what comes next...i can't afford not to care anymore."

 _Just...one...hit..._

The human slashed violently with their knife. They only cut air.

"ugh...that being said...you, uh, really like swinging that thing around, huh?

… listen. i know you didn't answer me before, but...somewhere in there. i can feel it. there's a glimmer of a good person inside of you. the memory of someone who once wanted to do the right thing. someone who, in another time, might have even been...a friend? c'mon buddy. do you remember me? please, if you're listening...let's forget all this, ok? just lay down your weapon, and...well, my job will be a lot easier."

 _ ***Sans is sparing you.**_

 ***** _ **Frisk stiffens. Their eyes widen, then brim with the mental image of tears. With a sudden burst of energy, Frisk lashes back.**_ _Chara! We have to SPARE him! DO IT! NOW!_

 _ ***DETERMINATION.**_

The world shifts, and Frisk realises that, miraculously...

They're looking through their own eyes.

 ***You're filled with determination.**

 _ ***File saved.**_

 **AN: Farewell, readers!** **;p**


	3. Something Else

**Madox: I finally got off my butt and fixed the spacing errors in Chapter 1. That one review about spacing errors was bothering me. XD**

 **~X~X~**

Frisk blinks furiously. They did it. They overrode Chara. They were back in their body, looking at Sans.

 _Sans…_

They beam at him intensely, eyes brimming with tears. Their vision becomes hazy, and they are too overcome with relief to notice how odd his smile was…

They reach out to SPARE him, but their hand won't move.

 _What?_

They try again, harder. With immense effort, their hand slowly, painstakingly, moves towards the button. Their effort makes the world spin.

Frisk hesitates for a moment out of dizziness, but then slams their hand down.

 _ ***You SPARE Sans.**_

The battle ends. They run towards Sans, flinging their arms out and hugging him tightly. They struggle to hold back their tears. He stiffens, and Frisk feels his hand move.

Suddenly, they cry out in pain as something pierces their stomach. They're flung across the corridor.

Frisk half-opens their eyes, the world swimming in a haze of red. Just before their soul cracks, they hear Sans saying something.

' _Geeeetttt duuuuunnnkkkkeeedddd oooonnnn!_ '

They smiles faintly.

 _I knew it was too much to hope that you would forgive me for my sins, just like that._

" _If we're really friends, you won't come back._ "

The words echo in their mind even as their soul begins to shatter.

 _ **~X~X~**_

 _Chara is fuming silently on their mindscape. Frisk walks over._

' _Chara…'_

' _Don't talk to me.'_

' _But-'_

' _I SAID, DON'T TALK TO ME.' They whirl on Frisk, their eyes blazing. 'You did what you wanted, DIDN'T YOU? You SPARED him and what did he do? He KILLED you.'_

 _Frisk was oddly calm. 'A-and I forgive him for it. After all, we did kind of destroy all life in the Underground aside from him, Flowey and Asgore. What else would he do, forgive us instantly?'_

' _STOP acting like MERCY is going to FIX EVERYTHING. Do_ _ **seriously**_ _think he'll_ _ **ever**_ _forgive "you" for what "you" DID!?'_

' _...' They shrug, sighing._

 _Chara lets out a breath of exasperation and shakes their head. 'What will you do now anyway? RESET? AGAIN?!'_

 _Frisk seems hurt. '...I-no, I…I don't know…'_

 _Chara groans. 'Oh COME ON, you watched us come_ _ **so far**_ _and I_ _ **bet**_ _you just want to UNDO ALL OF IT because THAT'S JUST WHAT YOU_ _ **DO**_ _, ISN'T IT!?'_

' _...'_

' _And then, at the very end, when_ _ **YOU**_ _thought of killing them, you couldn't do it._ _ **I**_ _had to do it for you.' They laugh bitterly. 'But do you know who suffers at the end of it all? Not_ _ **YOU.**_ _Oh no, of_ _ **course**_ _not_ _ **,**_ _YOU are "_ _ **above consequences.**_ " '

 _Frisk falls silent, letting them continue._

' _No,_ _ **I**_ _had to go through_ _ **EVERYTHING**_ _. Do you know what I_ _ **did**_ _just because YOU couldn't find the strength to continue?'_

' _...'_

' _ **... the only friend I've ever had.**_ '

 _Chara is seething._

 _Frisk takes a step forward._

' _But that wasn't enough for you, was it? Your_ _ **curiosity**_ … _even though you "begged" and "pleaded" for me to stop, you just wanted to continue. Because YOU just want to see what happens. YOU WANT SOMETHING_ _ **NEW**_ _. Oh, you wouldn't ever DARE let it show, but I_ _ **felt it**_ _. How could I not, sharing your body, your very SOUL?'_

 _Frisk can see tears building up in Chara's eyes._

 _They smile weakly at them._

' _Then it got to the point where we were so far into it that there would be no going back, and then you insisted that we could "still go back and fix everything." YOU-'_

 _Frisk cuts them off with..._

 _A hug…?_

' _I know what you did for me. I know what you had to go through.'_

 _Chara can hear the onslaught of tears being held back. One escapes onto their shoulder._

' _And...and… I'm-'_

 _Frisk is sobbing._

'… _so…so…sorry…'_

 _Chara stops._

 _And for the first time since they watched Asriel's face fade away into the light when they sacrificed everything in an attempt to save the monsters they loved and cared about so much…_

 _Chara hugs someone back._

 _The sound of dripping water could be heard echoing in Frisk's mindscape as two children reconciled with each other._

 _Frisk is first to pull away._

 _They step back and put their hands on Chara's shoulders._

 _They just stand and stare at each other for a moment._

' _I think we agree that we know what we should do now.'_

 _A smile unseen for who knows how long appears on Chara's face. They nod._

' _...Yes. Okay. Let's do this.' They reply, choking up slightly. They wipe away their tears and smile._

 _They find themselves at the MENU again, the black, void-like place where they CONTINUE or RESET. The RESET button is strangely greyed out. Chara has seen it already. Frisk stared wide-eyed at it, not having noticed before._

' _We_ _ **are**_ _continuing, right?' They ask hesitantly._

' _Yeah.'_

 _Frisk reaches out towards the CONTINUE button._

' _No-WAIT! Frisk, wait a second…'_

 _Chara moves to stop them._

' _When you took control of our body… there was a strange voice, wasn't there?'_

 _Frisk thinks back to the fight and remembers. They nod._

' _What did it say?'_

' _It said…it said "_ _ **File Saved.**_ " ' _Their expression changes immediately. 'Wait, that's - ' They stop, a statement and a question hanging in the air._

' _That… that's not a place where you should be able to SAVE.' Chara finishes the statement._

' _...how…?'_

 _The question is obvious._

' _Frisk…' Chara looks worriedly at their partner. 'I think we may have done something to the timeline.'_

 _Frisk hesitates._

' _How did this even happen?'_

 _Frisk makes up their mind._

' _We'll figure it out after we CONTINUE. If we've messed up the whole system, I don't think leaving it in the MENU will help it survive.'_

 _Sure enough, the two of them begin to sense odd…_ sounds _and_ movement _in the void surrounding them…?_

 _Chara looks from Frisk to the buttons and back again._

 _They still seem unsure._

' _I…guess…'_

 _Frisk nods decisively._

 _They press CONTINUE._

Instead of the beginning of Judgement Hall, they're standing in front of Sans at a moment in the fight.

"...the right thing. someone who, in another time, might have even been...a friend? c'mon buddy. do you remember me? please, if you're listening...let's forget all this, ok? just lay down your weapon, and...well, my job will be a lot easier."

They blink, disoriented by the unexpected change.

 _Didn't this just happen?_

Before they can do anything, the world begins to shift once again.

"ugh...that being said...you, uh, really like swinging that thing around, huh?

… listen. i know you didn't answer me before, but...somewhere in there. i can feel it..."

"W-what?" They murmur. Something's wrong.

Something is very, very wrong.

"and getting to the surface doesn't really appeal anymore, either."

 _A blinding flash of light consumes their vision._

" _..._ a better question. do you wanna have a **bad time? '** cause if you take another step forward... you are REALLY not going to like what happens next."

 _Flash._

 _They're in Hotland._

 _Flash._

 _They're in Alphys' lab. Everything was speeding up._

 _Flash._

 _Waterfall._

 _Flash._

 _Snowdin._

 _Flash._

 _The Ruins._

 _Flash._

 _..._

 _Emptiness._

"…He-"

A black, goopy figure appears before them.

'IBFO AOWIDB WIND G-A-R N FPOAFJ AW'

It croaks out unintelligible words before vanishing.

' _Chara, what's going-'_

 _Frisk gasps. They feel as though their soul was being pummelled into dust and flung around in circles._

 _Chara can only groan in reply, experiencing an identical, sudden pain to their own._

 _The pain is blinding._

' _Make it stop…'_

 _It must've only been a moment, but it seems like an eternity. It begins to die down._

They find themselves on a bed of golden flowers, with arching pillars and a jagged blue sky. Well, at least the piece of it that could be seen from here.

They were back.

At the beginning.

They didn't know how or why, but they were.

They stare up into the light, utterly befuddled.

"…?"

' _WHAT.'_

' _WHAT THE ACTUAL HECK JUST HAPPENED.'_

 _ ***You are**_ _ **very**_ _**confused.**_

 _ **~X~X~**_

 **M: AP has written her own fanfiction! It's about Frisk and Chara being magicians on the Surface, and it's really good! It's called 'Lost Memories', so go take a look!**

 **www. Fanfiction s/12178811/1/Lost-Memories**

 **(remove the spaces xD)**

 **She hasn't really been on, so~**


	4. What did we do?

' _Chara! Did we just RESET?!'_

' _WHY DO YOU EXPECT ME TO KNOW EVERYTHING?! I'm just as clueless as you are!'_

The human shoots up and whirls around, scrutinising every detail of their surroundings for signs of some kind of prank, and generally being an utterly confused mess.

 _The silence echoes around the stone room, whispering some questions._

 _Frisk looks to Chara again and voices one of them._

' _What do we do now?'_

 _They hesitate. 'I'm...not sure…'_

They plop back down on the ground again, making a soft 'ploof' sound as they flop onto the soft petals. They sit there for a bit, contemplating their options.

" _I guess…the only thing that we_ _ **can**_ _do is to continue. We'll just check on the damage we've probably done," Chara mutters a little grumpily._

 _Frisk agrees, though the slight reluctance is evident in their mumbled reply._

' _I have a nagging feeling that something happened to Sans.' Chara states, breaking the silence._

' _Hmm…' Frisk's eyebrows furrowed. They hadn't wanted to think about it, but now it had been brought up, Frisk couldn't stop worrying about Sans._

 _Chara senses it._

 _They sigh. 'We can go pacifist this time if you like.'_

 _Frisk perks up. A grin spreads across their face._

' _Only because we need to go fast. Something's seriously wrong.'_

 _Frisk nods enthusiastically in agreement, beaming all the while._

Frisk tentatively stands up, relishing their control over their body. Seems like Chara's leaving the Pacifist to them. They head forward, meeting Flowey for the hundred-and-somethingth-time.

"Howdy! I'm Flowey, Flowey the flower!" He exclaims in an upbeat tone. His dialogue continues. "…See that? That's your SOUL, the very culmination of your being!"

Frisk moves it around experimentally. It's their first time doing so in a very long time. Then they notice an odd new detail.

' _Chara! Why the heck is there a black thing on my SOUL?!' They exclaim, looking at the black fragment breaking up the constant redness of their SOUL._

 _Chara inspected the splodge, shrugged and laughed. 'No idea. I don't think it's all too important though. It's probably a temporary thing because of the glitch. My guess is it'll disappear next time we enter a fight. No biggie.'_

Flowey stares at their SOUL. He could tell that something was wrong, especially after having seen it a million times before.

"Chara… what's wrong with your SOUL?"

The words are muttered and almost go unnoticed. But of course they don't escape the child's ears. Then he continues as if nothing had happened.

He shoots friendliness pellets. They almost move forward to collect them, knowing that nothing bad would happen.

Everything goes as usual and Toriel appears, blasting the flower away. Frisk acts shaken, staring at her, trembling. "My child, are you alright? I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins… Follow me." They follow Toriel. Soon they reach the dummy.

"Sometimes, in the Underground, you will enter a FIGHT. Do not panic. Stall for time. I will come to resolve the conflict. Practice talking to the Dummy." They enter a FIGHT with it. Immediately they look at their SOUL. They exhale as the revelation hits them. It still has a sliver of black on it. They also learn that there is such thing as a darker shade of black.

 _'It's still there! Why won't it go away?' Frisk complained._

 _Chara basically gives up. 'I have literally no idea what's wrong with it.'_

 _'STUPID STUFFED UP TIMELINE!'_

"My child, is something wrong?" Toriel asks anxiously, noticing their silence. They nod hastily. She stares at their SOUL.

"That is, um, quite a unique SOUL you have. A very nice human trait, having SOULs with different appearances."

Frisk shifts uncomfortably. After a moment, they talk to the Dummy.

She praises them and they follow her out the door. They race through the rest of the Ruins, having gone through it so many times before.

 _ **~X~X~**_

 **BOOM.**

 _The entrance to the Ruins slams closed, like the 'thud' of something landing on carpet amplified a thousand times. The human stands outside, breathing in the cold, frosty air._

 _Two golden eyes, in the shadow of the trees, flash for an instant. Then the instant ends. It was gone. Nobody noticed, did they…?_

 _ **~X~X~**_

Frisk exits, taking a deep breath. The fresh, cold air was invigorating after the stuffiness of the Ruins. They see something out of the corner of their eye for a moment. It seemed to be… yellow? But that couldn't be, there was never anything yellow in Snowdin. At least not in this part, anyway.

They continue forward, absentmindedly walking over the bridge towards the conveniently-shaped lamp.

' _FRISK, WHAT THE HELL!' Chara screeches inside their mind._

"Huh? Whut?!" Frisk exclaims, jerking at the sudden booming sound of a thought.

' _How could you not notice that Sans ISN'T HERE?'_

They slam their metaphorical breaks and come to a complete stop. They look back at the bridge, the place where they should've had their 'first' meeting with Sans. Sans did not appear. Frisk looks around beyond the bridge, alarmed.

They listen for some hint towards Sans' presence; crunching footsteps, an ominous shadow, a creepy greeting, a whoopee cushion…

Nothing. Only emptiness.

' _I...guess we should just...keep going then…?' Their voice falters._

 _Chara sinks into deep thought about the timeline._

 _ ***Chara has a bad feeling about this run.**_

 _ ***Frisk feels bad for not noticing Sans' absence.**_

' _...'_

The moment of confusion passes. Frisk continues walking. They SAVE at the shimmering yellow star, and equip the Tough Glove from the Box. Their mind whirls as they try to think of reasons for Sans' disappearance.

 _Chara wonders why the Smiley Trashbag, as Azzy had dubbed him, appeared not to exist in the current timeline. They internally shrug. After all, it could only be a good thing. One less obstacle, right?_

Frisk meets Papyrus on the path.

"OH MY GOD! IS THAT A HUMAN?!" He exclaims loudly…to himself. They smile at him. "SANS WOULD KNOW…" His voice trails off, and for one heartbreaking moment Papyrus isn't smiling. Then he smiles again.

"HUMAN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WOULD LIKE TO ASK YOU WHERE SANS IS!"

They incline their head, waiting for him to continue.

"I HAVE ASKED ALL THE MONSTERS IN SNOWDIN, BUT THEY DID NOT SEEM TO REMEMBER HIM! HOWEVER! THE GREAT PAPYRUS WAS NOT DAUNTED! I SPRINTED TO CAPTAIN UNDYNE'S HOUSE AS FAST AS LIGHTNING TO ASK IF SHE KNOWS WHERE THE LAZYBONES WENT. BUT, SHE DID NOT REMEMBER SANS EITHER!"

Frisk frowns. It's true. Sans is gone. And somehow, no one remembers him, aside from themselves. And Papyrus.

Wiped from existence and forgotten by all but those who loved him most.

Existing outside of existence.

Something tugs at the back of Frisk's mind, like an old memory attempting to resurface, but it just won't form into words.

"...REAT PAPYRUS, WENT TO ALPHYS. SHE IS THE ROYAL SCIENTIST. SURELY SHE WOULD KNOW SOMETHING. BUT! SHE DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING…" He trailed off, seeming lost in thought. He was genuinely concerned for his brother.

' _Pap…'_

"SO…EVEN THOUGH I MUST CAPTURE YOU…I WANT TO KNOW IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING!" Papyrus perks up hopefully. Frisk instantly assumes an expression of contemplation to buy a few more seconds of time.

 _Frisk whirls to Chara, flailing for an option that didn't involve revealing to Papyrus that the Universe was a heck-ton bigger than he had believed his whole life._

' _Chara! What do I tell him?!' They hiss urgently._

' _Uhhh…say you don't remember. That seems to be our safest option right now.' Chara replies hastily._

They shake their head, telling Papyrus no, they haven't seen a monster called Sans.

"OH…OK…" He replies, sounding crestfallen. Frisk watches as he walks off, neglecting even his usual speech about capturing them and becoming popular.

' _...What. The hell. Was that.' Chara shakes their head in disbelief. 'Everyone except us seems to have forgotten Sans.'_

' _I-GAHH' Frisk is just exasperated by all of this…_ different _behaviour._

' _This is just…messed up.' They reply in frustration. 'I mean…just…' They groan and give up on full sentences._

Frisk moves onwards, **determined** to find out what happened to Sans.

 **Madox- Everyone pretty much forgot Sans. Haha... And whozat in the shadows? O.0**

 **AP - WhO kNoOoOoOoOwS?! It'S a MyStErYyYyYyYyYyYyYyY**


	5. What DID you do?

**AN: Madox - I would say that I'm sorry for the late chapter, but if all the chapters are going to be late, there's really no point lmao. (Also I hope this chapter actually makes sense. Things will be clarified later though sooo~**

 **AP - Btw this contains some OCs so if you dislike those then yeah, sorry but here they are. If you rly don't like it then just imagine that Frisk somehow just grabbed Sans and was like "YO" and just pulled him out of nowhere like "lel hi" and then did some pacifist fluff and happy rainbows and sunshine whatever xDDDDDD**

 **[1 year in the future~ 2117]**

She flops on her bed and listens to the sounds of tossing, turning and crying from the bottom of the bunk bed. Her sibling was having nightmares. Again.

Of course she cares. But even for someone like her, it was a little hard to forgive a child who broke their family's hearts when they disappeared one night, only to come back after days of searching, pain and grief, with the news that they had literally obliterated an entire species. A full genocide.

Then again, they were a child.

A crying child.

The girl sighs. She climbs down from the top bunk and finds Frisk shifting uncomfortably in their blanket. They look worse than ever.

' _Must be one helluva nightmare.'_

She reaches out to do what she normally does. Gently wake Frisk up, sing them a lullaby to calm them down and let them sleep again.

She lays her hand on Frisk's cushioned arm and opens her mouth to speak.

But the explosion of light sends her crashing backwards onto the carpeted floor.

Only the carpet has suddenly become tiles.

Red and gold tiles in a hallway lit with what she assumed was the orangey light of a sunset.

Definitely not the bedroom.

She stands up, rubbing her back where it had hit the floor.

' _What…?'_

"ugh...that being said…"

She whips around at the sound of a voice.

"you, uh, really like swinging that thing around, huh?"

She turns to see someone wearing a poofy blue hoodie, gym shorts and pink fluffy slippers, talking to…

' _Frisk?'_

"… listen. i know you didn't answer me before, but...somewhere in there. i can feel it. there's a glimmer of a good person inside of you. the memory of someone who once wanted to do the right thing. someone who, in another time, might have even been...a friend? c'mon buddy."

He raises a hand.

With no flesh.

It hits her.

He was a skeleton.

This was the Underground.

Thoughts start racing through her head.

' _He's a skeleton.'_

' _He's a monster.'_

' _I'm Underground.'_

' _No this isn't real. It can't be.'_

' _How'd I get here?'_

' _Oh wait so the light's not sunlight?'_

' _Frisk was dreaming.'_

' _Is this a dream?'_

' _How'd I get inside a dream?'  
_ ' _Am I even actually in this dream?'  
_ ' _Where is this light COMING from?!'_

' _Frisk has a knife. Covered in dust.'_

' _Monsters turn to dust when they die, right?'  
_ ' _Are these Frisk's memories?'_

' _Is this what they did last year?'_

do you remember me? please, if you're listening...let's forget all this, ok? just lay down your weapon, and...well, my job will be a lot easier."

His voice snaps her out of it.

She watches as Frisk goes through some kind of internal struggle, like an argument was happening inside their head.

Then she notices a third person standing just beyond them. A girl around her age, with shoulder-length brown hair that oddly reminds her of chocolate. She's wearing a strange combination of something that looks vaguely like a lab coat over a striped shirt and some worn jeans. There is a switchblade casually sitting in one of her many pockets.

And there's an ominous, goopy, dark figure looming behind her.

 **[Past - 201X] Gaster's Lab**

"Dad, what are you working on?" She asks curiously, staring at the strange jumble of wires and mismatched parts, and the large, blank TV screen in front of her.

"Nothing all that significant. Don't touch it! It's dangerous!" His voice raising from automatic response to alarm, knowing her nature. His voice echos from somewhere else in the lab. The girl can faintly hear him. She nods absent-mindedly, forgetting for a moment that he isn't watching her.

She examines the machine. The interesting machine with lots of flickering lights. She knows she shouldn't touch, but she does it anyway.

 _Beep._

 _Beep._

 _Beeepbeeeeep._

"...oops?" The girl murmurs, slightly worried. She snatches her hand back.

"Aelia? What's that noise?"

"Um. Nothing…" She mumbles, hearing his footsteps rapidly approaching. The screen in front of her suddenly lights up. It flickers several times before settling on a strange scene. It's a golden corridor, with alternating squares of orange and yellow on the floor. There are golden pillars spaced throughout it.

She watches, captivated. A young child seemed to be holding… a knife…? She - he - they - were covered head to toe in something that seemed to be dust. Monster dust.

"Aelia, what did you _do?_ " Her 'dad' says sharply. "You pressed something, didn't you?"

"Huh?" She jerks back in surprise.

"I...might ha-" But before she can finish, there is a blinding flash of light.

' _...'_

 _There's numbers everywhere. 10011010101101011. 1011010100100101101. 10111001101011._

 _There's code. Things that look like they're from a futuristic world fly past her. She's confused. She opens her mouth to speak, but there's no sound._

 _After what feels like a century, she sees something else. Something that looks like a-maybe-possible-exit from this weird 'tunnel'._

 _She moves towards it. There is a feeling of being weightless, like she's moving yet stationary at the same time._

' _Ohmygodwhatthehellwasthat…!'_ She mutters under her breath. Or at least, she tries to. She groans, feeling a little nauseous.

"..."

"ugh...that being said...you, uh, really like swinging that thing around, huh?

… listen. i know you didn't answer me before, but...somewhere in there. i can feel it. there's a glimmer of a good person inside of you. the memory of someone who once wanted to do the right thing. someone who, in another time, might have even been...a friend? c'mon buddy. do you remember me? please, if you're listening...let's forget all this, ok? just lay down your weapon, and...well, my job will be a lot easier."

Aelia turns. Is that the person Dad called the _Judge?_ He looked… frailer than she would have expected. And what was up with that weird speech?

She's no longer in the lab. She's somewhere… weird. It looks exactly like the scene from the screen. But it's a little different. There's a.. Skeleton monster...wearing a blue jacket…? He - It - Was facing the same small child, who was covered in dust and blood.

Her mouth opens in a small 'o' of surprise. How did she get here? What happened?

A small burst of light comes from behind her. She turns to see Gast- Her dad there.

' _What's this?'_ She tries to ask, gesturing at the two figures in front of her. But there's no sound. He tries to say something back- Moving his hands and gesticulating wildly- but she doesn't get it.  
' _What are you trying to say?'_ She mouths back at him. His movements become more urgent. He impatiently beckons for her to follow.

Casting one last glance at the half dead small child (whose eyes just _slightly_ unnerved her) Aelia follows.

 _ **~X~X~**_

The girl, still in her pyjamas, watches as 'lab-coat-girl' turns to leave, following the ominous gloopy blob of scariness.

She tries to speak.

No sound comes out.

So she attempts to run.

She can't move.

Her arms work. Her legs work. Her face works. She can move on the spot, but-

 _Boom._

For the second time, she's blasted away by light.

Her back slams onto the floor.

' _Ow.'_

She could feel snow. Tiles. Snow. Tiles.

She is severely questioning her senses.

' _Um?'_

The lab coat girl seems to be questioning reality.

' _Whaaat the hell-'_

Neither of them can move their bodies.

The light was still around them like a silent tsunami consuming their surroundings.

They blink, catching momentary glimpses of what was happening.

The world looks like it had chunks missing from it. Pixelated chunks. The weird chunks of nothingness flicker, changing position. For a moment it's in the sky. Then a tree. Then a window. Then another tree. Then a pillar. The colours were changing. _Everything was changing._

A forest..?

That weird corridor hall thing.

A forest.

Weird corridor hall thing.

It was a dizzying experience.

PJ girl decides to keep her eyes shut for the rest, but the other girl's curiosity gets the better of her. She keeps watching the world cycle before her like those movies on rolls of tape where each frame is a picture and there are dark gaps in between.

The scenery changes slow down. The chunks grow smaller. The light begins to fade.

 _ **~X~X~**_

 **[Around ten minutes ago - 2?]**

' _Tha hell just happened?!'_

Aelia frantically blinks a few more times, reassuring herself that the world wasn't shifting anymore. She quickly scans the area. It's cold, and snowy…It's some sort of clearing, surrounded by trees.

' _Where AM I…?'_

"Hmmngh…"

A sound.

There was another girl, sprawled out in the snow. Aelia cautiously walks over.

"Hey." She says, squatting down and poking the figure. "C'mon, get up. You okay?" It moves a little. She sighs, and sits down next to the person.

 _ **~X~X~**_

The girl blinks her alarmingly dark eyes open. Her long, umber hair looks a bit like a lion's mane resting on the ground around her head, and she herself lies in an awkward but comfortable position in the snow. Her skin was olive tan. She's wearing some fluffy pyjamas that were plain pink apart from the words "Sleep All Day" printed in thin, navy blue letters on her shirt. She had on a pair of white socks that looked a little damp from the snow.

She sits up, her hair flopping out of the white fluff and leaving a swirly imprint where it had been. Her hair now has specks of snow flecked everywhere. Her face says it all.

' _Um?!'_

She turns around slowly and sees pines towering above. She crunches some snow in her hands that lay mostly limp beside her. She turns to the girl sitting next to her, looking at her curiously.

They both just sit there for a moment, not really knowing what to say.

She had just witnessed a child - a child that looked _a lot_ like Frisk - and some random skeleton in blue trying to end a fight. Then they magically ended up in a snowy clearing. And she was still wearing pyjamas. That could be problematic.

Deciding that she should probably do something other than just sit there, pyjama girl speaks.

"Hello!"

She gives the other girl a warm smile.

"...Hi." The other replies, examining PJ girl. "...Aren't you cold?"

"Well yes, but it's not like I was expecting to end up in the snow…"

She looked down at her fluffy pink pyjamas. They were warm, but the snow was seeping through.

The girl in the strange looking lab coat decides to sort things out. "Let's introduce ourselves... I'm Aelia."

"Call me…" She pauses for a moment, thinking. "...Saph." Saph holds out a hand to Aelia, who cautiously shakes it.

Saph beams. Aelia smiles a little, and pulls out her phone. She taps it for a few seconds, and an alarming rift in reality opens. She reaches in and pulls out… a small white dog…?

"...oops."

It barks and wriggles out of her grasp, running away into the woods.

After a little more searching around inside the disturbing chunk of nothingness, she holds out a pink jacket. "Here."

Saph rolls her eyes and grins. "It's always pink, isn't it?"

She throws her head back, laughing. "Thanks," she smiles, taking the jacket gratefully and putting it on.

Aelia stares a little incredulously at her.

' _She's not surprised…? Not even a "Woah, what's that sudden tear in reality?" or "Woah what kind of phone is that?!' '_

"What?"

"...nothing."

There is a pause as Saph just looks at her for a moment, trying to decipher her thoughts. "Okay," She says, breaking the silence and shrugging.

"I wonder what soul colour she is…" The other murmurs contemplatively.

"Soo...how's life?" Saph internally facepalms. ' _What kind of a conversation starter was that? How do you even conversation?'_

Though some would think she was good at it, she doesn't have much confidence in her conversational skills.

Aelia laughs a little. ' _We've just been thrown probably through space and reality and she just says, "How's life?" Haha.'_

"Life's okay." She remarks. "Y'know, I've just been thrown through space to land here. How about you?"

Saph purses her lips and nods. "Pretty much the same, I think."

Aelia just looks at her before deciding on a question.

"Where were you before all this… weirdness?"

"I'm wearing pyjamas. Guess," She says with a small grin.

"Well, the only logical assumption would be that you were going to sleep." Aelia replies amusedly.

"Good job child." She beams.

Aelia giggles. ' _This girl likes to smile.'_ She thinks to herself.

"Anyways!" She takes a moment to reorganize the questions in her mind. "How'd you get here, how old are you, and… when was the last time you cut your hair...?"

She stares at Saph's hip-length hair.

Saph shuffles into a cross-legged position. "One: my sibling was having a nightmare and I went to comfort them and I ended up in that hallway where I saw you 'nd then we appeared here. Two: Thirteen, and three: When I was seven." All her words spill out in a mad rush like a rap. Then she smiles at Aelia.

"How about you? How'd you get here, how old are you..." she trails off, flapping her arms around in front of her like a child imitating t-rex arms. "That fluff."

"Well…" Aelia begins. It was quite a long story how she got here. And she was definitely not going to sit here in the cold telling her life story to someone she just met a minute ago.

"Remember that war with the monsters vs humans had a few years ago? I was… kinda underground when they put the Barrier up, so I was trapped here." She admits sheepishly and gives a small laugh, not noticing Saph's confusion. "I'm fifteen… I think. So I'm two years older than you." She pauses for a moment.

"I got here because I _probably_ touched something that I shouldn't have touched... " Aelia sighs dramatically. "But what else could I, a Curious Soul, have done in a lab full of interesting things? Oh hey, that reminds me. What soul colour are you?"

"Um...what…?"

"Y'know. Your soul trait. The very culmination of your being."

"How do I know what colour a soul is? My parents said it's not something you can see?"

"You pull out your soul." Aelia says it with an ominous undertone, waiting for her reaction. Nowadays it's rare that she meets someone who doesn't know about souls. Might as well make the most of this opportunity.

"WHAT." Saph is rather horrified at the thought of ripping her own soul out.

"It doesn't hurt. It's something monsters do all the time." She suppresses a grin, trying to remain serious.

"But...wouldn't I become soulless?! Because my soul would no longer be 'in' me?"

Aelia refrains from -quite literally- howling with laughter. This girl's face is absolutely PRICELESS.

"Nah, it's nothing like that. How do I explain… Your SOUL's still… 'tethered' to your body in a way. It's actually pretty hard to become soulless, since when your SOUL breaks, you die." She explains, sounding like she's quoting something from a book. Or a person.

Saph, being religious, was thoroughly disturbed by this. "Well, um okay, I'm just gonna - "

She stood to leave.

"Wait- Don't leave-" Aelia jumps up, stretching out her hand. She tugs gently, low-key initiating a 'FIGHT', but the other girl wouldn't know that. Right?

Saph stops. A glowing pink, heart-shaped object emerges, floating between them. There seems to be flickers of other colours floating within it.

"..Wow. What are the odds of finding someone else like this here?"

Saph feels an uncomfortable sensation in her chest. She turns to see what Aelia's talking about.

She sees a floating, multi-coloured heart floating before her.

"That's yours." Aelia grins and laughs. She gently tugs at it more, making it move around.

Saph stares wide-eyed at what she guessed was her "SOUL". Then she finds herself being tugged along with it.

"How are you doing that?!"

Saph's view of reality has changed. Her numerous reactions make it harder for Aelia to stop the explosion of amusement.

"Easy. With _maaaaagic._ " She replies, emphasizing the word. "Wanna learn? Yours is really interesting. I bet you could master…hmm...Green magic. Yeah..green. In no time at all. Human mages weren't called mages for nothing."

Saph is so surprised she can't even tell if that's a joke.

"Well, um, I mean, okay…?"

Aelia quickly takes a peek at this person's stats.

 *** Saph - ATK 1 DEF 20** **20/20 HP**

 *** Never was good at fighting...delighted to meet you though!**

She nods contemplatively to herself, just standing with her hands in pockets for a moment. Then she looks around. "Welp, I guess we're sticking together then. I can practically feel the magic in the air, so we're definitely still Underground. This area looks like Snowdin Forest, but much older. I wonder what happened?"

Her gaze flickers to the SOUL still hanging in mid-air and she SPAREs Saph, sending the SOUL back where it belongs.

"WOAH WOAH hold up." Saph holds up a hand, both stopping the flow of words from Aelia and steadying herself because that floaty heart thing just plopped back into her chest. "Snowdin Forest? Underground? What?"

 _How does she not know? "_ Snowdin Forest. Y'know. The snowy part of the Underground."

Saph just stares at her. "Underground."

"Yep!"

"But the Underground was destroyed a year ago."

"Uhhh. No it wasn't. The Barrier was created three years ago, and I was trapped here since that happened, so what you're saying doesn't even make sense." Aelia replies, confused.

"What I'm saying makes perfect sense. The Barrier was created over a century ago…"

She trails off, glassy-eyed.

Aelia suddenly has an idea. "Hey, what year is it?"

"2117," Saph replies automatically, snapping out of her train of thought.

"201X."

They stare at each other and the same thought comes to them at the same time.

"We're from different times, aren't we…?" Saph breaks the silence.

Aelia can almost hear the dramatic, suspenseful music in the background. She stifles a laugh, knowing this is not the time (quite literally) nor place to be laughing.

Saph's thoughts were racing.

' _DUN DUN DUNNNNN!'_

' _So we're in some part of time in between her time and mine.'_

' _How'd we get here?'_

' _I'm hungry.'_

' _Why was she in a lab coat?'_

' _Can I get some clothes?'_

' _I probably shouldn't tell her that everything she ever knew was utterly destroyed by my sibling…'_

' _Not yet at least.'_

' _Oh LOL that explains the phone. Dang it's ANCIENT yo.'_

Meanwhile in another part of her strange mind…

' _How curious. A girl from the past in a lab coat. But a child. She's probably some sort of assistant or test subject or...someone close to a scientist.'_

' _Frisk told me everything, and "mental breakdown mid-battle" was not something that appeared in their story. Did they skip it? Was it really them? Perhaps this is some other version of reality.'_

' _Of my reality.'_

' _Is this proof of my multiverse theory?!'_

' _Thank goodness no one knows about this.'_

' _Ohhh dear she's gonna find out about it…'_

Her usual mind…

' _WHY do so many thoughts happen at once it's so confusing.'_

Aelia took the moment of silence to think.

' _So I probably switched something on and now I'm here… Ha. I wonder how_ _ **she**_ _got here.'_

' _Is it even possible for me to teach her Green magic? Dad didn't really talk about it… Eh, she'll probably pick it up quickly.'_

' _She's still in pyjamas… Haha.'_

Deciding to continue the conversation, she speaks. "So what happened in your-"

"HOLD UP HOLD UP HOLD UP." Saph changes the subject. 'How…?!"

She gestures wildly. "How did we end up...here...from different times…?!"

Aelia shrugs. "Hey, I'm just as confuzzled as you are. Why are you asking me?" She replies, though internally thinking about some of her 'Dad''s experiments.

Saph shrugs back. "You seem smart."

"Um." Aelia snorts. That was very questionable. "Ok?"

Saph giggles.

When she stops, a thought from the earlier tornado of questions resurfaces.

"Hey, um...you know how when I saw you, there was this…" She waves vaguely, "dark, gloopy, thing behind you? What was that? Do you know?"

 _Oh my gOD._

Aelia bursts out laughing. "Oh, of course you don't know him. He's, uh, the Royal Scientist." She figures she better not mention how she was his adopted daughter due to…complicated reasons; and that his… somewhat catastrophic experiments with determination.

"I guess 'was' in my time." Saph said, mostly for herself.

' _That explains a bit.'_

The wind whistles through the leaves and sends a shiver down her spine.

Saph hugs her arms. "Well, since you've been here before, do you know a place where I could maybe get some warmer clothes? These PJs aren't that helpful in the cold." She rubbed her legs. The jacket was nice, but the snow was seeping through her pants and it was rather unpleasant.

"Well, there is - _was,_ I guess _-_ a town being established in my time. I guess it's done constructing now? There should be a clothing store or something…" Aelia trails off, suddenly realising she has no idea where the hell in Snowdin Forest she is.

She shrugs and starts walking in a random direction, with Saph following her. "I think it's thi-"

 _SLAM._

The sound of a massive, mostly unused door closing echos from behind them. Aelia sharply changes direction and follows the noise. Saph hesitates, then trails behind her.

' _Oh, there's a path… how convenient…Is that the Ruins door? It looks so old...'_ Aelia thinks to herself. There's a small child standing in front of a large, purple door. The same child she had seen earlier, half dead and covered in dust. She immediately ducks behind the bushes, tugging the other girl down with her.

Saph attempts to stifle a gasp. It comes out as a strangled squeal.

She stares at the sight of her sibling, wearing the same clothes as those they wore that day they returned, walking away from the door.

Suddenly she realises there's a faint, yellow glow coming from somewhere next to her.

" _Ah, crap._ " She hears Aelia mutter. Just as she turns to look, the light's gone. She turns back back just in time to catch Frisk casually strolling over a dodgy-looking bridge that looks like it's about to collapse at any moment.

 **AN: Madox: To clarify things if you didn't get it. Aelia was trapped underground when the Barrier was formed, and eventually found her way into the** _ **Underground**_ **where Gaster took her (due to her being a h00man child) and kept her in his lab. Her time: 201X.**

 **AP: And Saph child comes from the year 2117, and is an extreme scatterbrain with the ability to think fifty bajillion thoughts in one go. It's mostly remembering all the thoughts that she struggles with. And yes her mind is kind of maybe split with two personalities. Lol I wrote multiple pages on Saph's identity she has a lot going on xD**


End file.
